11 As a result, people of all 50 states and other US territories were able to invest in Puerto Rican bonds without having to pay interest on the money they earned. Investment dollars began pouring into Puerto Rican government bonds, which was unsurprising. For decades, this did not present severe concerns.
Are bonds issued by Puerto Rico tax-free?
All bonds issued by the Government of Puerto Rico, or by its authority, are exempt from taxation by the United States, the Government of Puerto Rico, or any political or municipal subdivision thereof, or any State, Territory, or possession, or any county, municipality, or other municipal subdivision of any State, Territory, or possession of the United States, or the District of Columbia.
How are bonds in Puerto Rico taxed?
Federal, state, and local taxes are not levied on bonds issued by the government of Puerto Rico and its subdivisions (so called “triple tax exemption”). Unlike other triple tax-exempt bonds, however, Puerto Rican bonds maintain their exemption independent of the bond holder’s location. This has made Puerto Rican bonds very appealing to municipal investors, who may benefit from owning a bond issued by a state or municipality other than their own. This benefit seeks to overcome the limitation imposed by municipal bonds with triple tax exemptions, which only apply to bond holders who live in the state or municipal subdivision that issues them.
This, among other factors, prompted Puerto Rico to issue bonds totaling US$71 billion, or roughly 68 percent of the island’s gross domestic product (GDP). Puerto Rico’s government debt crisis was precipitated by these acts, as well as a sequence of negative cash flows and a downturn.
What is the status of Puerto Rico bonds?
MIAMI, Florida On Tuesday, a federal judge approved Puerto Rico’s exit from bankruptcy under the largest public-sector debt restructuring plan in US history, nearly five years after the financially beleaguered territory claimed it couldn’t pay its creditors.
Hurricanes Irma and Maria, a series of earthquakes, and the coronavirus epidemic have only exacerbated Puerto Rico’s economic woes since it declared bankruptcy.
The restructuring proposal will cut the government of Puerto Rico’s debt, which totals $33 billion, by nearly 80%, to $7.4 billion. In addition, the agreement will save the government approximately $50 billion in debt payments.
Puerto Rico will also begin repaying creditors, albeit at a reduced rate, something it has not done in years. In 2015, the government announced that it would be unable to repay its debts.
When did the bonds of Puerto Rico default?
Puerto Rico first defaulted on its general obligation bonds in July 2016, when it failed to pay creditors about $1 billion, and it hasn’t made any payments since.
“It is a very positive development for Puerto Rico that a cross section of large bondholders has worked with the Oversight Board to develop a consensual restructuring agreement that will expedite the Commonwealth’s exit from bankruptcy, respect the lawful priority of valid public debt, and help restore capital markets access,” said Susheel Kirpalani, an attorney from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan who represents bondholders in the Lawful Constitutional Deficit Resolution.
According to public disclosures, hedge funds GoldenTree Asset Management, Monarch Alternative Capital, Whitebox Advisors, and Taconic Capital possess nearly $1.4 billion in constitutionally backed debt.
According to a person familiar with the settlement agreement, the proposal, which took about three months to negotiate, is expected to be lodged with the court within 30 days, with bondholders anticipating final approval by early 2020.
The Puerto Rican government issued a statement rejecting the agreement, citing the administration’s strong opposition to pension changes, which are included in the updated budgetary plan on which the restructuring agreement is based.
In a statement, Christian Sobrino Vega, the CEO and president of the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, said, “Not one word of the PSA (Plan Support Agreement) is considered acceptable to AAFAF.” The Spanish acronym for the agency’s name is AAFAF.
“And we can firmly state that no legislation, executive action, or other administrative approval required from the Puerto Rico government will be taken to implement an agreement that directly or indirectly supports a Plan of Adjustment that decreases payments to our retirees,” Sobrino Vega said.
After being appointed in 2017 to monitor the $73 billion reorganization, which is the largest in the history of the US municipal bond market, the island’s oversight board has made some progress in 2019.
U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain, who is supervising the unprecedented bankruptcy-like proceedings, authorized a plan in February to restructure approximately $17 billion in sales tax-backed bonds, dubbed COFINA for its Spanish name. Senior bondholders received 93 percent of their money back, while junior bondholders received 53 percent.
In addition, the court granted a debt restructure for the Government Development Bank worth roughly $4 billion.
A tentative arrangement for around $8 billion in debt issued by the island’s troubled electric power authority has also been reached. The monitoring board also announced a tentative agreement on Wednesday to restructure more than $50 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.
What is the size of Puerto Rico’s debt?
SAN JUAN, PRINCIPALITY OF PUERTO RICO Puerto Rico’s nearly five-year bankruptcy struggle has come to an end as a federal judge signed a deal on Tuesday that reduces the US territory’s public debt load as part of a restructuring and allows the government to begin repaying creditors.
The deal, which is the largest municipal debt restructuring in US history, was authorized after arduous bargaining, contentious hearings, and numerous delays while the island recovers from fatal hurricanes, earthquakes, and a pandemic that exacerbated its economic plight.
“There has never been a public restructuring like this anyplace in America or the world,” David Skeel, chairman of a federal control board formed to monitor Puerto Rico’s finances, said of the plan.
He pointed out that there are no bankruptcy provisions for countries or US states like the one handed to Puerto Rico.
“This was an astoundingly difficult, huge, and important bankruptcy,” Skeel said, noting that the island’s debt was three times that of Detroit.
The government of Puerto Rico claimed in 2015 that it could not afford to pay its $70 billion public debt, which had accrued over decades of mismanagement, corruption, and excessive borrowing. In addition, it owed more than $50 billion in public pension obligations. A year after the United States Congress established the financial monitoring and management board for Puerto Rico, it filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history in 2017.
Are bonds issued by Puerto Rico tax-free in New York?
A municipal bond issued in New York, for example, will be free from New York state income tax. We won’t be able to go over examples involving each state because there are 50 states plus D.C. and territories like Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Guam.
What are municipal bonds that are triple tax-free?
A debt instrument issued by a state, municipality, or county is known as a triple-tax-free municipal bond. Municipal bonds are typically used to raise funds for significant infrastructure projects including schools, bridges, hospitals, and highways. Local governments encourage residents to participate in infrastructure upgrades that benefit the community by providing tax incentives. Municipal bonds that are triple-tax-free might be either general obligation or revenue bonds.